Two areas (A, B) were opened, 300 m apart. Two underground cavities, which proved to be natural upon completion of their excavation, were discovered in Area A. Three burial caves (B1–3) and two underground cavities (B4, B5) that had been damaged by a bulldozer were excavated in Area B.

Area B

A shaft in the eastern side led to the entrance (3 × 4 m) of Cave B1, which was filled with an accumulation of gray soil that contained fragments of pottery vessels dating to the Roman period and the Early Bronze Age; pottery fragments from the Intermediate Bronze Age lay on the floor (Fig. 1:1). Cave B2 (3 × 3 m) consisted of three empty kokhim. A few potsherds dating to the Intermediate Bronze Age were found in the accumulation. Most of Cave B3 (1.5 × 2.0 m; Fig. 2) was severely damaged by the bulldozer. It contained the poorly preserved bones of a single individual, c. 17 years of age, beside whom an amphoriskos (Fig. 1:2) and a goblet (Fig. 1:3), dating to the Intermediate Bronze Age, were discovered.

Both underground cavities were natural. Cavity B4 (Fig. 2) had two openings and contained an accumulation of gray soil, devoid of potsherds. Cavity B5 contained an accumulation of brown soil and numerous stones that yielded a javelin head (Fig. 3).

The artifacts recovered from the excavation dated to the Intermediate Bronze Age and join finds from previous excavations that exposed two burial caves from this period (Y. Dagan, pers. comm.).